In the late 1800s and early 1900s, a position as a Pullman porter and Pullman maid was an enviable job, much better than most opportunities available to Black women and men at the time. Porters were a well-respected part of the Black middle class. However, because of the poor wages, substandard working conditions, and unfair treatment they received, these men and women formed the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, which ultimately became the first Black union in the country to successfully negotiate with a company. Their success was a courageous example of triumph over injustice, demonstrating the organizational and negotiation skills necessary to force change.

Chicago Tonight: Black Voices host and Chicago Tonight co-anchor Brandis Friedman will lead an online conversation with Lee Bey, author of Southern Exposure: The Overlooked Architecture of Chicago’s South Side, architecture critic, and member of the Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board; Perri Irmer, President & CEO DuSable Museum of African American History; and David Peterson, President of the National A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum.

Lead support for CHICAGO TONIGHT: BLACK VOICES is provided by Fifth Third Bank. Additional support is provided by Gertrude Dyane and James H. Wooten, Jr.; Allstate; Chicago Community Trust; The Joseph & Bessie Feinberg Foundation; The Abe and Ida Cooper Foundation; Lloyd A. Fry Foundation; Nicholas Antoine; Judy and John McCarter; and Hiranda and Paul Donoghue.